Collective News

I recently returned from a two week trip to Russia. Compared to the expedition and some other post expedition travels, two weeks really wasn’t very long… at least it didn’t seem very long as it flew by incredibly fast, but then again, the expedition flew by like a blur as well. Needless to say, I packed in as much as I could into those two weeks: from Russian language lessons and Moscow sightseeing, to countryside barbeques and a gigantic celebration of Russian war veterans. I also packed in as much as I could into my luggage. In Colorado, May is a tricky month weather wise. It can be snowing one day and sunny and hot the next. Case in point, the Saturday before I left for Russia, the mercury hit over 80 degrees and a few days later, Denver received 10 inches of snow. This left me scratching my head as to how to pack. My friend Elena said spring in Russia can be equally unpredictable, and considering how far north I was going to be, I decided I had better be prepared for it all.

As everyone is certainly well aware, there was a bombing last week at the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. With no known terrorists organizations claiming immediate responsibility, an anxious public desperately searched for clues and eagerly waited for answers into the identity of the suspect(s). Wild speculation was the order of the day and pundits “in the know” even went as far as to incorrectly and absurdly spew theories about who did it, such as Fox News contributor and overall hack Erik Rush, who claimed “Muslims are evil. Let’s kill them all,” and that it was the Saudi’s who were to blame. A Saudi man was initially questioned by Boston Police but released shortly thereafter.

Boris is an avid cyclist and a serial entrepreneur specializing in technology and alternative transportation. Anna is an environmental scientist who loves the outdoors, as well being a seasoned bicycle enthusiast. The pair have been on the road for over a month and on Monday, May 21, will speak about their bike trip and the unique bikes they are riding at the Denver Beer Company at 7pm. You can find out more about the bike tour here: transamericanelectricbiketour.com

Today, Tuesday, March 20th represents the vernal equinox, or spring equinox. It is one of two points during the year when the length of day and night is essentially the same and it signals the official start of spring, and this year, it’s the earliest start since 1896. Living in Colorado, this is a welcome change of events. After a long, cold and snowy winter, at this point in the year, not only am I ready for spring, I’m ready for summer and the resumption of all the outdoor activities that keep me sane in warmer temperatures.

So what is the Collective? Since finishing the expedition in 2009, we’ve been working on several other projects ranging from a documentary television series about the original expedition to experiential travel guides. The original expedition website served its purpose well, so we’ve decided to keep it as an archive, memorializing the project that started everything. Our hope is that it will continue to be a great resource for people who want to learn more about the original expedition, serving as a blueprint for a successful expedition people can use in planning their own adventures. Read more

One of our exciting new projects is the 42 Years Later documentary project. After the original expedition was stopped in its tracks and forced to divert down the west coast of Africa, we had a personal vendetta against Gaddafi and his unofficial policy of banning Americans from entering Libya. We still made some contacts in the process and have now launched a project to answer the question: What does it take to spark a rebellion?